"Michael Vick is thankful he's now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, but at one time he believed the Buffalo Bills would be a better fit for him.

He would have preferred playing for the Bills or Cincinnati Bengals, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urged him to select Philadelphia, according to a GQ Magazine article.

On Thursday, Vick began to back away from statements in the article.

After his release from federal prison in 2009, Vick wanted to go somewhere he could be the starting quarterback, and he told GQ that Buffalo and Cincinnati were better options. Both teams wanted him, and Buffalo would have likely made him the starting quarterback while the Eagles already had Donovan McNabb and backup Kevin Kolb.

Then McNabb was traded to Washington and Kolb got injured, clearing the lane for Vick to resume his role as one of the league's premier quarterbacks.

"I think I can say this now, because it's not going to hurt anybody's feelings, and it's the truth. ... I didn't want to come to Philadelphia," Vick told GQ. "Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options."

But after meeting with Goodell and other NFL officials, Vick was persuaded to go to the Eagles as a third-stringer — a situation he says he is now grateful he accepted. "And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation," Vick told the magazine."